Bonds of Blood
by hUeS -of- h a z e l
Summary: AU . The Cyclonian oppression has caused an erruption of war across Atmos. After years of enemy tyrany, two individuals come together under dire circumstances to escape imprisonment. Stork and Piper, drabble series
1. Desperation

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**I**

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She's running, sirens blaring around her as her feet pound on the iron grate of the compound floor. Her eyes are fixed ahead of her, but every once in a while she chances a glance over her shoulder to see if she is being followed, down the cold metal hallway she leaves further behind with each step. As she runs, her eyes scan the walls and ceiling for clues or signs of an exit, but all she can see is the winding hall ahead of her, illuminted by faint red glow crystals that give off no heat and bathe the dull gray walls crimson. She stops for a moment, her arm throbbing where a large gash has been made, bandaged hastily with a strip of cloth she tore from her dirty sleeve, and the screeching siren resonates painfully in her head as she searches wildy for an escape of somesort in the ceiling, the wall, the floor--but she sees nothing and curses before the thundering of heavy footfalls rings out behind her. Panting, she whips her head around to stare down the blood-red corridor she just came from with wide eyes, before facing foreward and taking off again as fast as her throbbing legs and burning lungs will allow.

Left, right, right and left, she winds her way through corridor after corridor, turning sharply at each intersecting hall and praying she finds some sort of escape instead of a dead end. The booming footsteps that follow her sound as though they are coming from everywhere all at once, closing in on her and threatening to suffocate her, a morbid pulse that carries like her own death song, drowning out the erratic and terrified beating of her heart.

But then--dead ahead, a door. She would have cried out in relief had she the energy, but as it were she was using every single calorie in her body for escaping alive.

Silently, Piper willed her legs to carry her faster.

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**A/N:** Some sort of drabble series? ... Shall continue soon.

- _hazel_


	2. Salvaged

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**II**

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The voices won't leave him alone.

They haunt him, demons that run rampant through his conciousness, invisible to the outside world but tangible in their horror inside his head. Their cries and screams echo, confined within his skull, accuations and derrogatory contempt tearing him apart everyday, every hour, every second, peice by peice until he has completely lost track of time and knows nothing beyond the agony of his own morbid reality. Shackles bind his hands and feet, raw where the metal has bitten into skin, leaving dirty streaks of dried blood along his arms and legs--but it has been so long, the pain has numbed completely, nothing compared to the torture inside his head that is absolute. His hair is long and greasy, grimy and stringy and forgotten as it hangs limp in his lifeless eyes.

**_Nothing_**, the demons hiss viciously.

_**Nothing, nothing, nothing!**_ They chant and sing and screech perpetually, never ceasing, the permanent reminder of what he was and what he is and what he will continue to be, elated in their ability to cause him agony.

**_Filthy wretch! Broken, useless Merb!_** Voices resonate, madness enoloping him. His thin body trembles and his lips quiver, but he lost the voice that he used to beg with long, long ago.

The thunder that is his cell door flying open is what suddenly stops their torture. A dark shadow is cast across his floor as red light floods the room. He tries to look up at the person standing in the door, but barely has the strength to lift his neck. For a moment, nothing happens, and there is no sound besides the sirens blaring outside and his own weak intake and exhalation of breath. Then, the shadow moves, shrinking as footsteps sound rapidly towards him. Soon he feels the pressure of rough, gentle hands lifting his head until he's staring into two identical amber eyes, narrowed in determination, bright like fire.

"Hang on," she says. "I'm going to get you out of here."

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**A/N:** Comments? What do you guys think so far?

- _hazel_


	3. No Time to Mourn

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**III**

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The shackles binding him succumb quickly to Piper's nimble fingers, falling away from his body so that he collapses limpy into her waiting arms, trembling. Her eyes widen in surpise--he is extremely light for a man of his size, much too light. Her arms encircle his skeleton-thin body completely, green skin marred by scars and cuts and bruises and God knows what else, and immeadiately she feels pity and sadness wash over her heavily. She could imagine what torture he was put through, the atrocities he must have faced being a merb held captive in a Cyclonian prison.

For a moment she's loses focus, and a incoherent gurggle from the man in her arms reminds her of the wailing alarms and red lights awaiting them just outside, brings her back to the reality that is the fact they are both dead if she doesn't move. With absolutely no time to waste, Piper slings one of the man's skinny arms over her own slim shoulder so that he's leaning against her right side. Quickly, she makes for the door.

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**A/N**: Drabbles are really good stress relievers. o0 I suggest creating a drabble series of your own, they're not long and you can write as much or as little as you want in one "chapter". XD

- _hazel_


	4. A Blessing Gained

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**IV**

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As she's hauling him out the door, he manages to turn his head enough to see her face. Though his stringy hair, he sees a young, slender face and dark skin smeared with dirt and sweat, chapped lips parted and panting, fire-bright eyes that are alert and filled with fear and apprehension. Her brow is knitted and she smells of filth. There are bruises and cuts and scars on her skin, her clothes are old and tattered, and he realises she's an escapee--somehow she must have broke free from her own cell, somehow she must have gotten past the guards, somehow she found him and for whatever reason decided to put her own freedom on the line to give him his as well.

The air outside his prison is old and stale, but fresh compared to what he had been breathing while he was chained. He inhales, exhales, and desperately wants to ask who she is, how she got free, and most importantly, _why are you saving meyou shouldn't be hereI'm just a merbget away while you can--_

But he cannot speak. The uncanny silence in his head and the warmth of his rescuer pressed against his side and the idea that he might escape this hell has his mind reeling, and as if sensing his thoughts she looks at him staring at her with his half-lidded, bloodshot eyes. Hers are strong eyes, hard eyes, kind eyes, and in that momentary glance he finds the _because_ to all of his _why_'s.

Suddenly, he finds he has the strength to speak again.

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- _hazel_


	5. Onward

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**V**

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"If you follow this hall, you'll find a door." His voice was hoarse and scratchy as he struggled to speak, but underneath the harshness that implied long-term dissuse it was younger than what she would have assumed, had she been thinking about such things like what age-group he possibly belonged to. Rather, as she led them briskly in the direction he had told her to follow, she found herself trying not to think too much about how he seemed so sure which way to go. If the situation hadn't been so dire, she would have been questioning whether or not she could trust him.

As they moved, the echoing shouts of guards and their pounding feet came closer and closer above the peircing alarms. Piper's heart was going a thousand miles a minute, even when she realised that they had arrived at the end of the hall and found themselves facing a large metal door. She stopped, but only briefly enough to lift one long leg in a swift kick that sent the rather heavy-looking door flying inwards, and continued through the opening as it hit the wall. She slammed it shut again with another kick and turned around with her companion. Inside it was illuminated by bright crystals that glowed green instead of red, revealing a large, cylindrical room and a huge staircase that followed its walls, spirialling downwards. The air was frigid and dry, heavy with silence.

Huffing, she asked quickly, "Where does this lead?" The merb in her company gazed down the railing, then extracted himself from her side, trying feebly to straighten only to fall back against the much shorter female. Piper caught him easily.

"I . . ." he started, then swallowed thickly. His voice was a painful rasp. "Hopefully to an exit."

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- _hazel_


	6. Further, Colder, Deeper

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**VI**

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Piper makes a low, brief growl in the back of her throat, a sound of agreement. She glances down the stairway and to the bottom of the room, contemplating something, then turns and looks at him. He looks back.

"Alright," she says. She takes hold of his arms with both of her hands and steps infront of him so her back is against his body, crouches low to the ground, and before he can ask what she's doing, she lets go of one of his arms and reaches back to grab one of his scrawny thighs. His mouth opens and he gasps as she hoists him so that he's straddling her from behind. He scrambles to hang on to her neck as she lets go of his arm to grasp his leg firmly.

"Sorry," she mutters. "But I can't drag you the rest of the way. This'll be quicker." He can't really argue with that, although the thought of being carried by a girl much younger than him is extremely embarassing. He doesn't have had the chance to anyway, because immediately she's hurring down the stairs, the hollow echo of her feet drumming against metal resonating loudly around the room. Their progress jars him, but he says nothing as they make their way down, down, down, deeper into the Earth and further into the unknown; the temperature seems to drop more and more with every step she takes.

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A/N: Someone asked me in a review to make my chapters longer, but, uh, making them any longer than 500 words would completely defeat the purpose of this story being a _drabble series_. Sorry to dissapoint. I update rather quickly anyway, so I'm sure you'll all survive. XD Thanks you all so much for your wonderful reviews, though, I love them all! ♥

- _hazel_


	7. Trapped

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**VII**

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"There's nothing down here!" Piper hissed, looking around the room wildly. "We're trapped!" No sooner did the words leave her lips than the booming slam of heavy metal against metal suddenly reverberate through the room. Both human and Merb sharply looked up as at least four Cyclonian talons looked down, faces illuminated with red light produced by crystal equpped weapons held in their hands.

"There they are!" one of them shouted. The voice was peircing and for a moment, both of their hearts stopped. The echoing stampede of heavy feet racing down the fifty-foot high staircase was deafening, and as panic rose, so did their hearts; two blood-drums beating erratically with fear induced adreneline. The Merb sucked in a hissing breath, his mouth right by her ear.

"No, we're not." And with that he hopped off her back. It was more the fear of excruciating death and thusly will power that gave him the strength to stand and walk shakily rather than physical stamina and lack of aching pain in his every bone. Quickly he stumbled to the centre of the floor and fell to his knobby knees as Piper asked what the hell he was doing. "Come on," he muttered, feeling around with both of his four-digit hands. "Come on, where are you?"

"Shit!" The exclaimation was immeadiately followed by a whiz of mechanics as Piper grabbed a retractable energy staff from somehwere on her person, holding it at ready as six talons in total finally reached them at the bottom of the winding staircase. She stared hard at each one with gritted teeth, and took a grounded defensive stance before them that suggested deadly battle prowess.

The one standing nearest to her was staring. "I'll be damned," he said slowly, looking from her to the man on his knees behind her as the rest of the soldiers stopped behind him. A slow, wicked smirk split his pale face. "You two . . . I never would've imagined . . . Hmph." Some of the talons behind him wore masks of incredulousness mixed with dark humor, and as confusion spread through her head the question of _who is he_ resurfaced in her mind yet again.

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**A/N:** Well, this one is a bit longer. A lot of them will be longer just because so many things are starting to happen. And as for romance . . . well, you'll all see eventually.

Thanks again for your wonderful reviews!! ♥

- _hazel_


	8. The Trump Card

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**VIII**

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As the talons closed in on them, crystal spears poised, there was a huge **_CRACK _**followed by a croaky cry of triumph as the floor began to shake beneath Piper's feet. The talons stopped and began to take hesitant steps back as the whole room suddenly started to tremble, and Piper fought to keep her balance as vibrations racked her body. She looked back, and there in the middle of the floor was a large levitation crystal, shining brilliantly and illuminating the face of her companion who was hunched over it. Every plane and angle of his long, gaunt face was awash with light as he grinned a rather insane grin at the talons, his left eye twitching. She stumbled backwards and planted the butt end of her staff to the ground, hanging onto it as she dropped to her knees beside him.

"What's happening?!" she yelled over the scream of shifting metal. "What did you do?!" His response was to grab her around her middle tightly, so hard that his bony fingers were digging into her side.

The walls groaned and there was a creak before eveything stopped; then, as the Merb beside her tensed and she grabbed him aswell, there was a painfully loud snap as the walls detached from the floor and they were _falling_.

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**A/N:** Whoot! Three chapters in one day? Huh, guess I'm on a roll!

- _hazel_


	9. Who

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**IX**

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The air was fast and hard and it clawed at her, shreiking in her ears and almost lifting her completely off the platform as they fell, plummeting, into what she was certain was their death. She clung desperately to him, and likewise his one arm wrapped around her was surprisingly strong and firm as it held her, his opposite hand and two feet secured to the floor with his adhesive fingers and toes. Her eyes were shut, and she was screaming, and things were flashing through her mind like lightning, memories of a life before imprisonment and isolation and a mission, of friends and family lost and bright cerulean skies and peaceful velvet nights, of airships and crystals and hope and--

_I'mnotgonnamakeitit'salloverI'msorryeveryoneIfailedI'msorryI'msorryI'MSORRY--_

--and the light beyond her eyelids was absolute as they abruptly slowed to almost a complete stop, jarring her painfully as her stomace churned and her head pounded. Her terrified screaming ceased as did her whirrling thoughts, and slowly she opened her eyes.

"What--?" she panted as they floated swiftly downwards.

He was still holding her, the crystal beneath his palm pulsing, his breath heavy. "That was way too close," he muttered. She stared, arms wrapped around him tightly, her staff clutched within white knuckes where her hands met on his other side.

"What just happened?" Piper asked him. He looked sharply at her with his bloodshot yellow eyes.

"Levitation Crystal. For a minute I thought it lost it's power, the way it stopped working like that . . ." he twitched as he said this.

"I know it's a levitation crystal," she said quickly, and realising they were still holding one another, let him go and sat up straight. "I mean . . . what happened? How did you know this thing was here?" She parted her lips to say something else, then puased, mouth working as she contemplated whether or not to ask her next question, what would happen if she did, what could possibly transpire if he gave her the answer.

"Who are you?"

He stared at her and didn't move. His long hair completely obscurred half of his sunken, dirty face. When he spoke, it was quiet and hesitant.

"...My name's Stork."

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**A/N:** ... I don't like this one. -shrug- Oh well.

- _hazel_


	10. Wonder, unbidden

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**VIII**

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_Stork_, she repeated inside her head as he looked away. _What an odd name_. Although, as she noted his long neck and limbs, she supposed it was rather fitting. She lingered on him for a moment, her eyes carefully taking in his tired face and shaking body and scarred green skin--he looked so fragile and weak it made something in her chest wrench. _Stork_, her mind said again, in a solemn whisper. _How many horrors has this war made you endure, I wonder?_ The thought was unbidden, and Piper frowned, her eyes promptly finding the floor to examine as she tore her gaze away from him.

She didn't ask anything else, although she wanted to, and he didn't say anything else as they rode the rest of the way down. Minutes passed silently until the elevator began to slow.

"We're here," Stork said as the metal shaft surrounding them slowly gave way to an arch-shaped gap between the wall and the floor, and as they descended she saw that beyond the opening there was a passage leading somewhere yonder, carved completely from stone. The levitation crystal dulled as they reached the ground, until it ceased glowing completely and the lift stopped. She peered down the corridor as she stood; she could see light at the other end.

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**A/N:** Hmm, appearently there was fluff last chapter. XD And here I was trying to write that scene platonically. ;

- _hazel_


	11. Something Legendary

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**XI**

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"We need to hurry," he said, and she rushed back to his side to help him stand. With him leaning against her once again, Piper gently yet quickly led them forward. "It won't be long until they come looking for us through some other enterance. Cyclonis has a dozen of them down here . . ." his rough, quiet voice trailed off into a croak. They stepped off the platform and onto the cold, hard stone of the tunnel. Piper stared at the carved stone in bewilderment.

"What in the Atmos is this?" she said. _There's not a scrap of metal here! It's all rock . . ._

"You'll see," he muttered. Soon they reached the end of the passage--what Piper saw as they stepped beyond made her breath catch.

Dozens upon dozens of bright crystals lined the huge room from wall to wall; computers and engine parts and peices of metal and other materials were scattered in various places throughout. The ceiling was easily over one-hundred and fifty feet above her head, all smooth stone curving into a enormous dome--except in the middle, where a large, grey, mechanised door replaced rock. Switches and lights were everywhere, blinking, flickering, flashing, and Stork hobbled over to one and fiddled with it. There was a loud buzz, like some sort of energy spike, before a sudden flash from the middle of the room called her attention to a airship that, by all means, should have not have existed, and certainly wasn't there a moment ago. Her heart seemed to stop as light caught on it's smooth metalic skin, glittering on the clear glass windows, catching the sliver crest painted on its hull that she reconized indeffintely from history books and pictures and legends painted and preserved forever inside her head.

Her bright eyes were wide, and her voice came out as whisper from between parted lips as Stork looked back at her.

"The _Condor_ . . ."

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**A/N:** shflagfljdas;g. IT'S THREE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING, omg. -falls over- There are probably so many things wrong with this one. Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I've been busy, what with Christmas and all . . . Gah. And it might still be a while yet before I update again. :(

I love you guys, you all rock!

- _hazel_


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